By IANS,
Kolkata : Jay Shree Tea and Industries, part of the BK Birla group, Friday said it would export tea worth Rs.600 million ($14.3 million) in the current fiscal, up from Rs.490 million last year.
“Last year we exported Rs.490 million worth of tea and this year we are confident that exports would touch Rs.600 million. Production of tea would be around 22 million-kg in 2008-09,” chairman B.K. Birla told reporters here on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting.
Jay Shree Tea has gardens in Assam and Darjeeling.
The company produced 18.5 million kg of tea in the last fiscal.
Jay Shree has recently took over Jayantika Tea estate at Dooars in West Bengal that produces 1.1 million-kg of tea a year.
Price realisation of Assam gardens’ tea during May-June has gone up by Rs.17 per kilogram over prices prevailing in the year-ago period.
Realisation of Darjeeling gardens’ tea is up by Rs.15 per kilogram for the same period.
Talking about the impact of the Gorkhaland agitation in Darjeeling, Birla said Jay Shree’s gardens were closed for three days this month.
“Things have started normalising in Darjeeling,” he added.